August 10th, 2008

Five months after we lost my wife’s father to cancer and our life was ready for something good.

Along came Buddy.

We used to frequent the local animal shelter to assist with exercising the abandoned dogs and in the back of our mind we were always looking for the right one to join our home. One day we stumbled across an unwanted retriever who at this stage had remained unclaimed after 8 weeks and was being treated for a self-inflicted wound to his front leg that was a result of being licked to the bone.

The shelter allowed us to walk Buddy for only a short distance due to his healing, but we knew that this was the one. Buddy was going to come home with us.

We filled in an expression of interest and during that week we received a call to advise us that we were able to adopt him and on the proviso that we were comfortable with administering the care needed for his leg, we welcome to take Buddy home that weekend.

Over the next few days we bought toys, food, bedding and all sorts of things that we were assured by the pet store staff we needed. The only thing missing when we brought him home was a kennel, so the first task was to build one for our new family member.

Having never had a dog before, my first of many moments of astound came when I saw the level of loyalty that was present instantly.

With hammer and nails in hand, I was in full swing with constructing what would become a comfy abode when Buddy would meander over to inspect the progress, only to then turn, lay down and keep watch over me as I continued.

With two cats already in our family, I was more prone to the levels of independence that felines display rather than this level of companionship that was now to be a mainstay in our house for years to come.